The Opposition - History
Ossett United were formed in 2018 following a merger between Ossett Town (est. 1936) and Ossett Albion (est. 1944).
Both of those clubs had been long standing in the NPL and the new club set up camp at Ingfield, former home of Town.
Recent seasons have seen familiar faces involved with the club.
Ahead of the 22/23 season Jas Colliver and Mark Ward took over as joint managers but this appointment did not work out and Grant Black, Belper manager in the promotion campaign three seasons ago, took over in October 2022. He was sacked just before Christmas 2023.
The fledgling club has picked up a single honour, the West Riding County Cup in 2019.
Last season saw a 16th place finish.

The Opposition - This Season
The Sheepicorns have endured a difficult start to the season, with two wins from eleven games to date.
The FA Cup campaign ended at the first hurdle with defeat to Widnes before the NPL East season began with a draw at home to Ashington but a heavy defeat at Grimsby Borough.
After a 0-0 draw with Brighouse, further defeats to Newton Aycliffe and Pontefract followed.
They finally picked up a win at Consett before progressing past Stalybridge on penalties in the FA Trophy.
Their last two league games have been defeats at home to Sherwood Colliery and North Ferriby but they won last weekend in the FA Trophy, defeating Bradford (Park Avenue) to reach the Third Qualifying Round.

They currently sit 21st: P 8 W 1 D 2 L 5 F 5 A 18 Pts. 5.

A journey of around 60 miles awaits the Nailers today.

Manager David Wild took over in May and has previously managed Runcorn Linnets and our A6 rivals Matlock Town along with Stockport County and Mossley. Before that he was a youth coach at Manchester City.

So far this season Eddie Church leads the way with two goals. A further six players have a single goal each.

The Nailers
Belper started the season in fine form, winning their first three matches before coming unstuck at Emley.
They bounced back with victories over Bridlington Town and Sherwood Colliery before the FA Cup campaign ended in a replay at Bromsgrove.
Wins over Boldmere St. Michaels and North Ferriby followed but top spot in the league was sacrificed when Cleethorpes Town won at the Raygar Stadium and Emley took advantage to leapfrog the Nailers.
Last weekend saw an impressive FA Trophy victory at Kidsgrove Athletic.

Head to Head
Belper have only met the current Ossett United four times.
In 2018/19, two matches saw 11 goals.
In September at Ingfield, a stunning 60 yard goal from Jack Vann in injury time secured a point for Ossett with the match finishing 3-3.
The Nailers picked up the points back at Belper the following April. 0-2 down after 48 minutes, goals from Robson, Crouz and South saw the game turned on its head with the hosts winning 3-2.
Last season, goals from James Cadman and Zak Goodson saw Belper to a 2-0 victory at the Raygar Stadium before later in the season the points were shared at Ingfield.
Record vs. Ossett United: P 4 W 2 D 2 L 0 F 9 A 6 (all league).

Form Guide (all comps)
Ossett United: LWDLLW
Belper Town: DLWWLW

Team News
New signing Kelan Swales is available for selection.
There are no suspensions.

Permutations
The Nailers will go top if they win and Emley don't; they travel to Bishop Auckland. A draw will not be enough with our goal difference six behind and several teams capable of overtaking us with a win.
Ossett sit one place off the bottom of the table but it is very congested - only six points separate 7th and 21st - and a win could shoot them up to mid-table. A draw is unlikely to do much for them due to them having the worst goal difference in the division.

Match details
Ossett United vs. Belper Town
Northern Premier League Division One East
Saturday, 28th September 2024 - 3:00pm kick off
Ingfield
Prospect Road
Ossett
WF5 9HL
Tickets: Adults £10, Concessions £7, U16s £2.50
Available here: Tickets

Follow the match
Live commentary is available with Tom on Radio Belper Town - https://radiobelpertown.mixlr.com
Full coverage on X (Twitter). Team news, HT & FT scores on Facebook.
Match reports to follow on the website and in the Non-League Paper.

NPL East fixtures this afternoon
Ashington AFC vs. Sherwood Colliery
Bishop Auckland vs. Emley AFC
Bradford (Park Avenue) vs. Heaton Stannington
Brighouse Town vs. Grimsby Borough
Cleethorpes Town vs. Dunston
Liversedge vs. Newton Aycliffe
North Ferriby vs. Consett AFC
Ossett United vs. Belper Town
Pontefract Collieries vs. Carlton Town
Sheffield FC vs. Bridlington Town
Stocksbridge Park Steels vs. Garforth Town